Not entirely unexpected, but in a six-to-one decision, the California Supreme Court upheld the state’s ban on gay marriage, the Proposition 8 referendum voters approved last November. The court ruled that Prop. 8 “constitutes a permissible constitutional amendment (rather than an impermissible constitutional revision).” Silver lining: the court declared that the 18,000 same-sex marriages conducted last summer, prior to the passage … Read More
So It’s Sotomayer
You probably know this by now: President Obama announced on Tuesday that he will nominate the federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court, choosing a daughter of Puerto Rican parents raised in Bronx public housing projects to become the nation’s first Hispanic justice. Judge Sotomayor, who stood next to the president during the announcement, was described by Mr. … Read More
New York Update
Well, the shows are done. Audiences seemed to like it, although almost everyone who attended was a friend or family member of someone in the cast…. so that doesn't count. After-show outings were entertaining: HGTV's Libby Langdon ("Small Space, Big Style") took us to a nice restaurant for which she had interior designed (Libby is the daughter of cast member … Read More
New York, New York
Light blogging for a while as I am in NYC. Doesn't look like much is going on anyway (we're still bickering about torture?). I caught August: Osage County on May 17, which happened to be the last performance by Estelle Parsons. The play is phenomenal, but…. Well, I hate to be one of those people who thinks the original cast … Read More
This Is All I Have To Say About The Torture Debate And The “Ticking Time Bomb” Scenario
Torture is illegal. It should be illegal. It should stay illegal. Now, torture supporters are all over the place saying, "But what about the 'ticking time bomb' scenario?" That refers to the hypothetical situation where we know that a dirty bomb is about to go off in the center of some major city, and we have some terrorist suspect in … Read More
Marriage Equality Update: NH Edition
Looks like NH Gov. John Lynch is going to veto the same-sex marriage bill passed by both houses of the NH legislature. He gives a long explanation here, but it boils down to this: he wants additional legal protections for religious and fraternal institutions, specifically: I. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a religious organization, association, or society, or any individual … Read More
Lost Musings
There are moments during "Lost" where I think to myself, "Wow. This is dumb. Why have I been watching this show all these years?" One of the things that annoys me most is that the charactors' motivations seem to turn on a dime. Ben, for several years, has been the evil leader incarnate, and then, suddenly, he turns all sheepish … Read More
In Honor of Graduation Time, Here’s a Gallery of Horrific Senior Photos
The entire collection is here, but they don't get worse than this: Their parents must be so proud. Then again, there are even far more embarrassing things that can show up in the school yearbook.
Great Works Of Literature Get Twitter Treatment
Ulysses jamesjoyce: Man walks around Dublin. We follow every minute detail of his day. He’s probably overtweeting. Great Expectations charlesdickens: Orphan given £££ by secret follower. He thinks it’s @misshavisham but it turns out to be @magwitch The Catcher in the Rye jdsalinger: Rich kid thinks everyone is fake except for his little sister. Has breakdown. @markchapman is now following … Read More
NPH To Host Tonys
I've never been a fan of the folks they usually get to host the Tony Awards. I'm not a huge Jackman fan (being a striaght guy) — he did it for several years in the 2000's. Sometimes the ceremony goes host-less, which is kind of bland. Whoopi was okay last year, but didn't bowl me over. Nathan Lane and Matthew … Read More
Time For A Career Change?
From NY Craigslist: Reply to: job-hqkb5-1169741827@craigslist.orgDate: 2009-05-13, 9:01PM EDT Mercury Radio Arts is the New York based production company owned by Radio and TV host Glenn Beck. Mercury seeks a writer for contributions to Glenn’s radio program, magazine, and web site. The ideal candidate will have a strong interest in news, current events, and politics. Key responsibilities will include contributing … Read More
Manny Ramirez: Am I In Trouble?
Classic from The Onion: LOS ANGELES—According to his teammates, his coaches, and the media, Manny Ramirez has appeared visibly confused and anxious since receiving a 50-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy, and has repeatedly asked those around him if he is in some sort of really big trouble right now. "Uh-oh, things are not going so good … Read More
Google Outage
Yeah, it's happening now, worldwide. World at a standstill. Are we relying on Google too much??? UPDATE: More than a few people on Twitter did what *I* did — i.e., tried to find out about Google outage by searching "google outage"…. except they searched on Google. Duh! It does pose an interesting dilemna: how do you find out about Google … Read More
A Plea For Public Broadcasting
Everytime pledge week rolls around on NPR, I am reminded of Fred Rogers (aka "Mr. Rogers", of "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood") in 1969 testifying before Congress. Public television was in danger of having its budget slashed dramatically. Mr. Rogers, still a relative unknown, went up to Captial Hill. He not only urged that the public broadcasting budget not be cut, but … Read More